1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to supports or holders, and in a more particular sense, refers to a device of this type adapted to clampably engage an air tank or cylinder of the type that is carried on the back of a firefighter or a rescue squad member.
Devices of this type are in widespread use today, in firefighting and rescue operations, and normally are supported in vertical positions against the walls of firehouses or kept in containers stored in truck compartments or the quarters of rescue squads, or alternatively they may be found mounted upon firetrucks or rescue vehicles, on the backs of jump seats provided upon said vehicles, or indeed in any location where it is desirable or important to provide swift and convenient access to a cylinder of the type described.
Thus, in a more specific sense, the invention relates to supports for air tank cylinders of the type adapted to be carried upon one's back as part of breathing apparatus, and in particular the present invention relates to devices of this nature so designed as to permit swift and easy release of the cylinder so that the wearer can walk away with the cylinder strapped to his back as part of a breathing apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, it has been proposed to provide devices of the type generally described above, and such devices have included means for quickly releasing a tank or cylinder from a clamping engagement by arms movably mounted upon a backplate or equivalent support.
To this end, it has been heretofore proposed to provide vertically spaced pairs of clamp arms, mounted upon rotatable bars, said clamp arms being adapted to normally grip an oxygen tank or cylinder. In association with the clamp arms, it has also been proposed to provide means including a handle adapted to be grasped by the user, for the purpose of swinging the tank-engaging arms to outwardly swung release positions. In this way, the tank is freed, and the wearer is enabled to walk away with the tank strapped to his back.
The prior art, however, has generally required mechanisms that are relatively complex, or in some instances are not adapted to be operated with a wholly desirable speed and ease. It has been proposed, for example, to provide a device of this type in which the arms are controlled by pivoted dogs, normally maintained in spaced relation by a plunger capable of being withdrawn responsive to throw of the handle by the wearer.
It has been the main object of the present invention, accordingly, to provide a device of the nature described above, that will be adapted to swing the tank-engaging arms between clamping and release positions with a minimum of movement of the associated components of the mechanism controlled by the wearer for the purpose of swinging the clamp arms in this way.
A more specific object is to provide a device of the type stated which will be sure in operation, will require a minimum amount of force by the user to throw the handle between its opposite extreme positions, and will be capable of trouble free operation over a long period of time.
Still another object of importance is to overcome the prior art deficiencies by incorporating in the invention a capability of swiftly and easily adjusting the movable components of the operating mechanism, in such a manner as to permit the device to be adjusted for cylinders of specifically different diameters, and also to permit the tightness of the clamping engagement to be adjusted, in a highly precise fashion.